Juvenile Crimes Lawyers

Backed by 150+ Year’s Collective Experience

Youth are supposed to make mistakes; that is part of the growing up process. Occasionally, those mistakes, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, violate state or local laws and can even result in the injury or death of other individuals, whether or not it was intended.

If your child has been arrested for a crime in Florida, they face potentially serious consequences. Should your child be convicted of a juvenile offense in Florida, it may mar their reputation and create problems in their adult life. The juvenile justice system is different from the regular criminal justice system, but that does not necessarily mean that it is always more lenient. The protection of a child’s future is a parent’s top priority and, at Musca Law, it is also our priority.

Juvenile Justice System

The only differences between juvenile offenses and crimes committed by adults are that juvenile offenses are committed by minors rather than adults and the justice system employed for prosecuting such offenses is based on a different set of procedures. Contact with law enforcement as the result of an offense could result in a civil citation or an actual arrest.

After a juvenile is arrested and taken into custody, a number of things could happen, including referring the case to the adult court system, depending on the severity of the crime. The juvenile could be formerly detained in a secure detention center for up to twenty-one days before their court hearing. Once the case is in court, adjudication may be withheld, placing the youth in a community supervision program, or the court may pass judgment, placing the youth in a secure residential commitment facility. If a juvenile is convicted of the offense, it will likely remain on their record unless steps are taken for the sealing or expunction of that record.